STICERD Public Events and Lectures
Huth Initiative for a New Political Economy
Challenging Inequalities
Paul Johnson
Tuesday 17 November 2026 18:30 - 20:00
Hong Kong Theatre, CLM 01, Ground Floor, Clement House, LSE, 99 Aldwych, London WC2B 4JF
Many of our seminars and public events this year will continue as in person or as hybrid (online and in person) events.
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About this event
Overall income inequality in the UK has barely moved in nearly 40 years, and the very richest stopped pulling away from everyone else almost two decades ago. Yet inequality feels more pressing than ever.
In this talk, Professor Paul Johnson will argue that the economic stagnation we have lived through since the 2008 financial crisis lies at the heart of the problem. It has deepened inequalities of wealth, widened gaps between generations and regions, slowed social mobility, stalled progress on health inequalities and fed a growing sense of political inequality. All of this sits on top of the high levels of income and earnings inequality left behind by the dramatic increases of the 1980s.
Drawing on his new book Challenging Inequalities: How We Got Stuck and Where We Go Next, the final output of the IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities, he will set out how these different forms of inequality have developed and why they matter. Addressing inequality requires tackling its root causes: while progressive taxation and a robust welfare safety net are essential, they alone are far from sufficient.
Meet the speaker:
Paul Johnson is Provost of The Queen's College, University of Oxford, and former Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). He is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Follow the Money.
Meet the chair:
Anna Valero is a Professor in Practice and Director of the Growth Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at LSE. She is also Deputy Director of the Programme on Innovation and Diffusion (POID) and an Associate of the Grantham Research Institute.
Register for the event:
Please use the Eventbrite link to register for the event: Eventbrite - Paul Johnson: Challenging Inequalities